A STUDY 



— OF- 



THE CHILDREN'S POET 



By LILLIE jFARIS 

Critic Teacher Ohio Teachers' College, Athens, Ohio, 



i 

D*<3 



F. A. OWEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

Dansvilie, N. Y. 



X. 



LiSRARYof 00hiQf?cSS 
Vwo Copies Kecdived 

t JAN 80 (905 

Iq Oouynun-. titry 
i COPY B. 



Copyrighted by 

F. A. OWEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

1904. 



Houghton, Mifflin & Co. have the thanks 
of the author for their courtesy in allowing 
the use of the poems contained herein. 



TO TEACHERS: 

To make a success of the study of Longfellow a teacher can 
not be too familiar with his poems. She must read and re- 
read the simpler poems, make them so thoroughly a part of 
herself, that she will be a living inspiration to her pupils. 

If we compel pupils to learn certain facts about an author, it 
will not have the desired effect. We must teach them to love 
those of whom they are studying and it certainly is an easy 
matter to make them love such a character as our Longfellow. 
The very fact of his having loved the children so dearly, and 
written so extensively about them insures their interest. 

Let us first take them on a little imaginary trip to the city 
of Portland, Maine. Tell something of the city of Portland, 
near the sea. Do the children know what the sea is? If not, 
tell them. Show them the picture of Longfellow's home at 
Portland. Tell them of a dear, little, blue-eyed, auburn- 
haired baby that once came to live in that home; how he grew 
and grew, just as bab"es always do; how he listened to the 
songs of the birds and the song of the sea, and the beautiful 
thoughts they whispered to him. Tell of his surroundings; 
the old Deering woods through which he used to wander; the 
old fort on the hill near his home, from which a gun was fired 
every morning at sunrise. Tell of his school life; his later 
college life, especially emphasizing his boyish experiences and 
games. Teach the children to love him as a child, and later 
as a man and poet. 



i^O, little book, and if in your small 
circle of acquaintances you may 
say a word that will inspire one boy to 
a better, nobler life than he might 
have lived had he not known you, it will 
add one more star of glory to the 
crown of 

OUR LOVED POET. 



A Trip to Longfellow's Birthplace. 

(The following is suggested as a story or it may be used as 
board work for the reading class:) 

Come, children, let us take a trip. 

We vill go to Portland, Maine. 

Portland is a large city near the sea. 

There is an old house in Portland that 1 want you to 
see. 

1 will show you the picture of it. 

One time a little blue-eyed baby came to that 
house. 

He had soft auburn hair. 

His father and mother loved him dearly. 

They named him Henry. 

After a while Henry grew big enough to stand alone, 
and then to walk. 

How glad his mamma was when he could talk ! 

When he was three years old, he started to school. 

Was he not little to go to school? 

He loved to listen to the songs of the birds. 

The sea sang songs to him, too. 

The leaves and blossoms, the sunshine and the rain, 
all whispered to him and played with him. 

He called them his playmates. 

He used to lie on the soft, green grass and look up 
into the summer sky. 

He played the clouds were ships. 



8 THE Children's Poet 

When he grew to be a man he wrote many beauti- 
ful poems about these things. 

He says : 

Bright visions came to me 
As lapped in thought I used to lie, 
And gaze into the summer sky, 
Where the sailing clouds went by. 

Like ships upon the sea. 

The green trees whispered low and mild: 

It was a sound of joy! 
They were my playmates when a child, 
And rocked me in their arms so wild! 
Stiil they looked at me and smiled, 

As if I were a boy. 

Visions of childhood! Stay, O stay, 

Ye were so sweet and wild ! 
And distant voices seemed to say:- 
"It cannot be! They pass away ; 
Other themes demand the lay; 

Thou art no more a child!" 

(The following questions are given for oral discussion:) 

Where was Longfellow lying? 
What are "visions?" 
What kind of visions came to him? 
What is meant by "lapped in thought?" 
Describe a "Summer Sky." 
How did the clouds look? 
Why liken them to ships? 
How could the trees whisper to him? 
Do they ever whisper to you? 
Can you tell me the names of some of Longfellow's 
playmates? 



The Children's Poet > 9 

Did you ever see a man who wanted to be a little 
boy again? 
Did Longfellow wish to be a boy again? Why? 



Longfellow's Childhood. 

(Board lesson.) 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born at Port- 
land, Maine. 

He was born in February, 1807. 

He started to school when he was three years old. 

When he was six years old, his teacher sent a note 
to his mother. 

His teacher's name was Mr. Carter. 

This is what the note said: 

Master Henry Longfellow is one of the best boys we have in 
school. He spells and reads very well. He can also add and 
multiply numbers. His conduct last quarter was very correct 
and amiable. 

June 30, 1S13. N. H. Carter. 

His teacher called him Henry. 
All his playmates called him Henry. 
But when he became a man and wrote books and 
poems, everybody called him Longfellow. 
We may always call a great man by his last name. 



lo The Children's Poet 



The Sea-Fight. 



When Longfellow was a little boy he liked to look 
at the sea. 

He watched the white ships as they went sailing, 
sailing far, far away. 

When he was five years old he saw a big sea-fight. 

Do you know where England is? 

Well, England had treated our people badly and 
sent many soldiers over here to make us do just what 
she wanted us to do. 

One day a big British ship full of soldiers came 
close to Portland Harbor. 

The ship \\-as called "Boxer." 

Our people sent a big American ship out to meet it. 

The American ship was named "Enterprise." 

The soldiers on these two ships had a hard fight. 

At last both captains were killed, and our people 
won the victory. 

The two captains were taken to Portland and buried 
side by side, near the bay. 

Longfellow saw this fight and remembered it. 

Many years afterward he wrote a poem called "My 
Lost Youth," and in it he speaks of this battle. He 
says — 

"I remembered the sea-fight far away, 

How it thundered o'er the tide; — 
And the dead captains as they lay 
In their graves o'erlooking the tranquil bay, 
Where they in battle died." 



12 The Children's Poet 



Longfellow's Home Life. 

Longfellow had three brothers and four sisters. 

What gay times they must have had when they 
were small ! 

They would play all kinds of games. 

He and his brother Stephen were together much of 
the time. 

They would swim, fly kites, fish, snowball and 
coast. 

Stephen liked to hunt and once when the brothers 
were out, Longfellow shot a robin. 

He cried about it and never went hunting again. 

The Longfellow home was a very happy place. 

Every evening the boys and girls would all study 
their lessons. 

When the lessons were over they played games 
until bedtime. 

Their father was a lawyer. 

He had to be away from home sometimes. 

Once when he was away, his little Henry wrote 
him a letter. 
/ It was the very first letter he had ever written. 

This is what it said: 

Portland. 
Dear Papa — 

Ann wants a little Bible like Betsey's. Will you 
please buy her one if you can find any in Boston? I have been 
at school all week and got only seven marks. I shall have a 
billet on Monday. I wish you would buy me a drum. 

Henry W. Longfellow. 



The Children's Poet 13 

His First Poem. 

Before Longfellow was fifteen years old he had 
written a poem called "The Battle of Lovell's Pond." 

This pond was near his grandfather's home, and a 
battle with the Indians had taken place there. 

That is why he wrote the poem. 

One of his sisters knew that he had written it. 

No one else knew anything about it. 

It wa.s printed in a Portland newspaper. 

He and his sister watched for the paper. 

How glad they were when they saw the verses I 

But how sorry he felt when someone said an un- 
kind thing about his poem. 

He cried, but he kept on writing. 

A great many of his poems were written before he 
was nineteen yeais old. 



His Manhood. 

Longfellow entered Bowdoin College at the age of 
fohrteen and studied there for five years. 

Then he went across the sea to Europe. 

He traveled and studied in France and Spain. 

In Spain he met an American writer whose name 
was Washington Irvinoj. 

Washington Irving wrote "Rip Van Winkle." 

He wrote a book which Longfellow read many 
times. 

It was called "The Sketch Book." 

Do you think he was glad to meet Irving there? 



14 The Children's Poet 

When he came back to America he was a teacher 
in Bowdoin College. 
Later he became a teacher in Harvard College. 
Harvard College is at Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
He had a beautiful home in Cambridge, 
It was here that he wrote many of his poems. 
He often thought of his old home at Portland. 
He wrote this beautiful poem about it : 

My Lost Youth. 

Often I think of the beautiful town 

That is seated by the sea, 
Often in thought go up and down 
The pleasant streets of that dear old town, 

■And my youth comes back to me; 
And a verse of a Lapland song 

Is haunting my memory still; 

"A boys will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." 

I remember the black wharves and the ships 

And the sea tides tossing free, 
And the Spanish sailors with bearded lips, 
And the beauty and mystery of the ships. 

And the magic of the sea. 
And the voice of that wayward song 

Is singing and saying still: 

"A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." 

I I remember the bulwarks by the shore, 

And the fort upon the hill; 
' The sunrise gun with its hollow roar, 

The drumbeat repeated o'er and o'er, 



The Children's Poet i^ 

And the bugle wild and shrill. 
And the music of that old song 

Thrcjbs in my memory still; 

"A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts. " 

I remember the sea-fight far away. 

How it thundered o'er the tide! 
And the dead captains as they lay 
In their graves o'erlooking the tranquil bay 

Where they in battle died. 
An<3 the sound of that mournful song 

Goes through me like a thrill; 

"A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." 

I can see the breezy dome of groves. 

The shadows of Deering's woods; 
And the friendships old and the early loves 
Come back with the Sabbath sound, as of doves 

In quiet neighborhoods. 
And the verse of that sweet old song. 

It flutters and murmurs still: 

"A boy's will is the wind's will. 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." 



i6 Thh Childrbn's Poet 

Questions for Oral and Written 
Language. 

Why did Longfellow think of his old home? 

What is meant by "the beautiful town?" 

How did his youth seem to come back? 

Do you think he liked the sea ? 

What is a sea-fight ? 

What country was fighting with ours? 

Who won the victory ? 

Name both the ships. Which was ours ? 

What happened to the captains ? 

What is a dome ? 

What dome does he speak of ? 

Did you ever see the "shadows" of woods ? 

Why did he like to remember Deering's Woods ? 

Can you repeat the first five lines of this poem ? 



Longfellow's Home. 

On the opposite page is a picture of Longfellow's 
home at Cambridge. 

His little children were born here. 

He had four girls and two boys. 

One little girl, Frances, died when she was very 
small. 

The boys' names were Charles and Ernest, 

Longfellow called his girls, — 

"Grave Alice, laughing Allegra, 
And Edith with golden hair." 



i8 The Children's Poet 

Do you see the windows to the right of the door ? 

They open into his study. 

There are three doors that open into this room. 

The children's room was directly o\'er his study. 

Longfellow worked all day in College and in his 
study. 

Sometimes in the twilight he would sit in his study 
and rest. 

When it grew darker he would light the lamp. 

He would sit by a table where he could look into 
the hall. 

What do you think he would see ? 

His three little girls creeping softly down the stairs 
to surprise him. 

They would rush into the room and climb upon his 
lap. 

They would hug and kiss him. 

He called them little robbers because they stole his 
kisses. 

After they had played a good while, their papa 
would take them all in his arms. 

Then he would say : 

"I have you fast in my fortress; 

And will not let you depart. 
But put you down in the dungeon 

In the round tower of my heart. 

And there I will keep you forever, 

Yes, forever and a day 
'Till the walls shall crumble to ruin, 

And moulder in dust awav." 




Edith. 



Allegra. 
Longfellow's Daughters. 



Alice. 



20 The Children's Poet 

More About His Home. 

The name of Longfellow's home was "Craigie 
House." 

A lady named Mrs. Craigie owned it. 

In 1843 it was bought by Mrs. Longfellow's father. 

It was given to Mr. and Mrs. Longfellow for a wed- 
ding present. 

They enjoyed this home very much. 

Some grand old elm trees are in front of the house. 
Do you think the children loved these trees? 

Across green fields flowed the beautiful Charles 
River. 

If ever you should go to Cambridge you must visit 
this beautiful spot. 

You will see Longfellow's study just as it was when 
he lived. 

You will see "his books and his pleasant pictures." 
that Whittier speaks of in his poem, 'The Poet and 
the Children." 

You will see many things which he loved and en- 
joyed. 

You will see the arm chair with green leather arms 
and cushion — but I shall tell you more about this 
chair in another story. 

In this room Longfellow wrote many of his most 
beautiful poems. 

The first one he wrote here is called "Flowers." 

Some day you must read this poem. 



The Children's Poet 21 

When you visit this house, you must think of "our 
poet," his beautiful poems which always make people 
better, and his pure life which helps us to be noble 
and true. 

Then, too, you must think of "our Washington," 
who, when the cruel war was going on, made this 
his headquarters. 

Wouldn't you like to visit it? 

It was Longfellow's home for nearly forty years. 

It is now kept, as nearly as possible, as it was when 
he lived. 

His daughter, "grave Alice," lives there now. 

Allegra and Edith with golden hair are both married 
and live close to their old home. 



Bishop of Bingen. 



Many years ago in Germany there lived a man — 
Bishop of Bingen, or Hatto, he was called. 

His barns were full of grain and food. 

There was a famine in his country. 

The people had nothing to eat and they became 
very hungry. 

At last they asked the Bishop for some corn. 

He opened wide his doors and told them to come in. 

Then he locked the doors and set fire to the barn. 

The people screamed and cried. 

The Bishop said, "It sounds just like the squealing 
of rats and mice." 



22 The Children's Poet 

He was punished for being so wicked. 

An army of rats and mice followed him everywhere 
he went. 

They would not let him rest. 

He tried and tried to get away from them but he 
not. 

At last he built a high tower out on the river Rhine, 
a beautiful river which flows through Germany. 

He climbed up into the tower but he could not get 
away from the rats and mice. 

They followed him and at last they ate liim. 

He had been a \\'icked man and that is why he 
was punished. 

Questions for Language Either 
Written or Oral. 

Note; — Teacher may write "The Children's Hour" on the 
blackboard where all the children can read it, after which the 
following questions on the poem may be asked : 

What do we call the hour "between the dark and 
the daylight ?" 
What does Pause mean ? Occupation ? 
Whose little feet did Longfellow hear ? 
Who were coming down the stairs ? 
Why did they whisper and keep so still ? 

Doyou think they were happy girls? Why do you 
think so? 



The Children's Poet 23 

What does plotting mean? 

How many doors opened into Longfellow's study ? 

What does unguarded mean? 

What does he mean by "my castle walls?" 

What do the children do after they get into the 
room.? 

Tell the story of the "Bishop of Bingen." 

Why did Longfellow call his children banditti ? 

What does he mean when he says "Such an old 
mustache as 1 am?" 

What is a dungeon? A fortress? 

What is meant by the "round tower of my heart?" 

Note: — This poem makes a very pretty and instructive little 
drama. Select three girls for the characters of — 

"Grave Alice Laughing Allegra, 
And Edith with Golden Hair ' 

A favorite little boy, one whom the children all love, should 
be chosen for Longfellow. Let children do their own planning 
as to what part of the room shall represent staircase, study and 
their play room. If there are three doors opening into school- 
room they should all be used. If not, improvise one for the occa- 
sion. Longfellow is seated in a large chair and the acting goes 
right along with the recitation of the poem by teacher or some 
child. Longfellow himself may recite the poem, but it is just 
as Avell to let some one else recite it until it comes to the ninth 
stanza. Then he should jump up and encircle them all in his 
arms, repeating — 

"I have you fast in my fortress. 

And will not let you depart, 
But put you down in the dungeon 

In the round tower of my heart. 



24 The Children's Poet 

And there I will keep you forever, 
Yes, forever and a day, 

'Till the walls shall crumble to ruin, 
And moulder in dust away 



Longfellow's Love for Children. 

James Whitcomb Riley is a poet who lives in 
Indiana. 

He admired Longfellow very much. 

Riley loves children, too, and he was glad that 
Longfellow loved them. 

He wrote a little poem about "Longfellow's Love 
for Children." 

Let me give it to you — 

"Awake he loved their voices 

And wove them into his rhyme, 
And the music of their laughter, 

Was with him all the time. 

"Though he knew the tongues of nations 

And their meanings all were dear, 
Yet the prattle and lisp of a little child 

Was the sweetest for him to hear. " 

When you hear any one say anything about "The 
Children's Poet," you will know they mean Henry 
Wadsworth Longfellow. 

People call him that because he wrote so many 
poems for children. 

He said children's hearts were full of sunshine and 
songs of birds. 



The Children's Poet 2$ 

Can you think how a forest would look without 
leaves ? 

He said that children are just as much to the world 
as the leaves are to the forest. 

He asked them to tell him — 

•What the birds and winds are singing 
In your sunny atmosphere 

Here is one of his poems about children : 



The Children. 

Come to me, O ye children! 

For T hear you at your play, 
And the questions that perplexed me 

Have vanished quite away. 

Ye open the eastern windows, 

That look toward the sun, 
Where thoughts are singing swallows 

And brooks of morning run. 

In your hearts are the birds and the sunshine, 
In your thoughts the brooklets flow; 

But in mine are the winds of autumn 
And the first fall of the snow. 

Ah' What would the world be to us 

If the children were no more? 
We should dread the desert behind us 

Worse than the dark before. 



26 The Children's Poet 

What the leaves are to the forest, 
With light and ivr for food, 

Ere their sweet and tender juices 
Have been hardened into wood — 

That to the world are children; 

Through them it feels the glow 
Ot a brighter and sunnier climate 

That reaches the trunks below. 

Come to me, O ye children; 

And whisper \n my ear 
"What the birds and winds are singing 

In your sunny atmosphere. 

For what are all our contnvings 
And the wisdom of our books. 

Compared with your caresses 
And the gladness of your looks > 

Ye are better than all the ballads 
Which were ever sung or said, 

For ye are living poems 
And all the rest are dead 



Language or Conversation Lesson 
on "The Children." 

Why did he want the children to come to him? 

What questions do you think would "perplex" him 

What made those "questions" go away ? 

Who opens the "eastern windows ?" 

Why does he refer to them ? 

What does he say are in the hearts of the children 



The Children's Poet 27 

How can we have "sunshine" in our hearts ? 
What does he mean by — 

"In mine are the winds of autumn 
And the first fall of the snow" ? 

How does he think we would feel if there were no 
children in the world ? 

Describe his thoughts in comparing leaves of the; 
forest with children. 

Learn to repeat the seventh stanza. 

Tell something the birds say to you. 

Tell something the wind says to you. 

Which does he say makes us happier, learning or 
children's caresses ? 

What is a poem ? How can children be poems ?, 

What does he means by "living poem?" ;■ 

Note: Teach that a beautiful life is a poem or a benediction 
to the world, and that even as an ugly word spoils the grace of a 
poem, so will an ugly action mar the beauty of the living poem. 



To the River Charles. 

Across green meadows in front of Craigie House 
flowed the beautiful River Charles. 

Its waters sparkled and glistened in the sunlight. 

Sometimes the river rushed and roared as it wound 
its way to the sea. 

At other times it was quiet and flowed gentjy along. 

Longfellow visited this river many times. ; 



28 The Children's Poet 

Before his little children came to help banish his 
cares, he used to sit on the bank of this river. 

Sometimes when he was sad it helped to make him 
feel better. 

He loved the river for many reasons. 

He had friends who lived on its banks. 

These friends were Mr. and Mrs. James Russell 
Lowell. You will hear about Lowell some time. 

Longfellow says : 

"Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee 

And thy waters disappear, 
Friends I love have dwelt beside thee, 

And have made thy margin dear." 

Longfellow had three friends whose names were 
Charles. This is another reason why he loved the 
river. 

He said he learned to be patient and kind and gentle 
just by watching its waters flow. 

He wrote a poem and called it — 

To the River Charles. 

River! that in silence windest 

Through the meadows bright and free, 

Till at length thy rest thou findest 
In the bosom of the sea! 

Four long years of mingled feeling 

Half in rest, and half in strife, 
I have seen thy waters stealing 

Onward like the stream of life. 



Thh Children's Poet 29 

Thou hast taught me, Silent River! 

Many a lesson deep and long; 
Thou has been a generous giver; 

I can give thee but a song. 

Oft in sadness and in illness 

I have watched thy waters glide 
Till the beauty of its stillness . 

Overflowed me like a tide. 

And in better hours and brighter, 

When I saw thy waters gleam, 
I have felt my heart beat lighter 

And leap onward with thy stream. 

Not for this alone, I love thee. 

Nor because thy waves of blue 
From celestial seas above thee 

Take their own celestial hue. 

Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee, 

And thy waters disappear. 
Friends I love have dwelt beside thee, 

And have made thy margin dear. 

More than this; — thy name reminds me 

Of three friends, all true and tried; 
And that name, like magic, binds me 

Closer, closer to thy side. 

Friends my soul with joy remembers; 

How like quivering flames they start, 
When I fan the living embers 

On the hearthstone of my heart ' 

'Tis for this, thou Silent River! 

That my spirit leans to thee. 
Thou hast been a generous giver, 

Take this idle song from me. 



^o 



The Children's Poet 
Language Lesson, 



(Note: — Make use of the following words in sentences, eithei 
oral or written. ) 



Mingled 


waves 


strife 


celestial 


stealing 


shadowy 


taught 


woodlands 


generous 


disappear 


giver 


dwelt 


sadness 


margin 


illness 


reminds 


overflowed 


magic 


brighter 


quivering 


gleam 


flames 


hearthstone 


embers 


p;:i., 





The Story of the Blacksmith. 

There was an old blacksmith shop in Cambridge. 

Do you know what kind of work a blacksmith 
does ? 

Tell me the names of his tools. 

The smith is a strong, mighty man. 

He works hard every day.- 

The old shop in Cambridge stood undera bigcliest- 
nut tree. 

Longfellow passed this shop on his way to work. 

He liked to see the smith at work. 




The Village Blacksmith. 



32 The Children's Poet 

He liked to see him "swing his heavy sledge." 
He watched the sparks that flew from the hot iron, 
He wrote a poem about the smith. 
It is called, 'The Village Blacksmith." 
Children all over our land read this poem. 
Let us learn to read it : 

The Village Blacksmith 

Under a spreading chestnut tree. 

The village smithy stands; 
The smith, a mighty man is he, 

With large and sinewy hands. 
And the muscles of his brawny arms 

Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black and long. 

His face is like the tan ; 
His brow is wet with honest sweat, 

He earns what e'er he can. 
And looks the whole world in the face. 

For he owes not any man. 

Week in, week out, from morn till night, 

You can hear his bellows blow; 
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, 

With measured beat and slow, 
Like a sexton ringing the village bell, 

When the evening sun is low. 

And children coming home from school 

Look' in at the open door; 
They love to see the flaming forge. 

And hear the bellows roar. 
And catch the burning sparks that fly 

Like chaff from a threshinsi floor. 



The Children's Poet ^^ 

He goes on Sunday to the church, 

And sits among his boys; 
He hears the parson pray and preach, 

He hears his daughter's voice 
Singing in the village choir, 

And it makes his heart rejoice. 

It sounds to him like her mother's- voice 

Singing in Paradise! 
He needs must think of her once more, 

How in the grave she lies; 
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes 

A tear out of his eyes. 

Toiling, — rejoicing, — sorrowing, 

Onward through life he goes; 
Each morning sees some task begin, 

Each evening sees it close; 
Something attempted, something done. 

Has earned a, night's repose. 

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend. 

For the lesson thou has taught! 
Thus on the flaming forge of life 

Our fortunes must be wrought: 
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped 

Each burning deed and thouoht! 



34 The Children's Poet 

Questions on "The Village 
Blacksmith." 

(To be answered orally or written.) 

Tell me all you can about the blacksmith. 

What color was his hair? 

Was he strong ? What helped to make him so ? 

Why could he look the "world in the face" ? 

Where did his shop startd ? 

Did you ever see a horse-chestnut tree in bloom ? 

What do you think Longfellow means by saying, 

"His brow is wet with honest sweat, 
lie earns what e'er he can" ? 

Did you ever see a blacksmith swing his heavy 
sledge ? 

What did it remind you of ? 

Ask your teacher to tell you about the village bell 
that was rung every evening at sunset. 

Do you pass a blacksmith shop on your way to 
school ? 

Do you like to see the "burning sparks that tly 
Like chaff from a threshing floor" ? 

Where did he go on Sunday ? 

What did he hear ? 

How did it make him feel ? 

Read the sixth stanza and tell what made him feel 
sad. 

Why did Longfellow thank the smith for his 
lessons ? 

What lesson does the last stanza teach ? 



The Children's Poet 35 

The Horsechestnut. 

Outline For Nature Study Lesson. 

Talk of Tree as a whole: size, forni, trunk, branches, 
color of bark, on trunk and on branches. 
Buds: position, size, form, number, color, covering. 

(Note that horsechestnut has a few buds well protected, 
others have many not so well protected.) 

Leaves: arrangement, size, form, thickness, color, 
surface, duration. 
Flowers: size, shape, color, time of blooming. 

(Note: — The magnificence of a horsechestnut tree in full 
bloom is unsurpassed. Read in this connection, the story of 
"Iddly Bung's April Trismus Tree" from Wiltse's Kinder- 
garten Stories and Morning Talks. ) 

Fruit: kind, form, size, color, time of ripening. 
Wood: hardness, color, markings, durability, weight. 
Why called horsechestnut? 
Difference between horsechestnut and buckeye. 

(Additional science lessons may be correlated with this poem.) 

1. On development of mwscles. (Stanza i.) 

2. The skin: its anatomy and functions. (Stanza 2.) 
^. Wheat: the time of planting, soil, ripening, 

reaping, threshing, use of grain, etc. 

4. Iron: where obtained, a description of the pro- 
cess of conversion into pig-iron, and of castings, 
naming things made of iron. 



^6 The Children's Poet 

For Written Language. 

I. Write words that rhyme with-- 



tree 


hear 


motlier's 


stands 


ringing 


Sundax- 


large 


burning 


preach 


brawny 


toiling 


needs 


strong 


sorrowing 


each 


brow 


sounding 


must 


task 


shaped 


deed 


2. Use the foll( 


3wing words in 


sentences (oral or 


written) :' 






spreading 


sledge 


toiling 


village 


measured 


rejoicing 


brawny 


sexton 


sorrowing 


crisp 


flaming 


onward 


tan 


sparks 


attempted 


honest 


chaff 


earned 


bellows 


parson 


repose 


worthy 


fortunes 


wrought 


i. Write first stanza from men- 


lory, using canitiils 



properly, indenting lines and punctuating. 

Note: — This exercise must necessarily be preceded by lessons 
on capitals as beginning lines of poetry, and indenting of lines 
that rhyme. The punctuation /irrc- should be wholly memory 
work. 

4. Name all the tools a blacksmith uses. 
Draw pictures of all you can. 
Draw a picture of a "smithy'' under a "spreading 
chestnut tree." 



The Children's Poet ^7 

The Children's Present to their Poet. 

Let me tell you a story about the old chestnut tree 
that Longfellow loved. 

It was a horsechestnut tree and stood many years 
after the old "smithy" was torn away. 

At last the city officers decided that the old tree 
must be cut down, as it was in the way. 

The people loved the tree and were sorry to have it 
cut down. 

They saved the wood. 

This was in 1876. How old was Longfellow ? 

The children of Cambridge all loved Longfellow. 

They had visited him in his home. 

He took them into his study and showed them his 
books and pictures. 

He always treated them kindly and in 1879 they 
planned to give him a present for his birthday. 

They all took money to school and gave it to their 
teachers. 

The money was collected together. 

Do you remember that the wood of the old chest- 
nut tree had been saved ? 

It was made into a big armchair. 

The wood was ebonized or blackened. 

It was carved all over with horsechestnut leaves, 
blossoms and burrs. 

The cushions on the arms and seat were made of 
green leather. 

Around the seat in raised letters are the words. — 



38 The Children's Poet 

"And children coming liome from school. 

Look in at the open door, 
And catch the burning sparks that fly 

Like chaff from the threshin ; iioor." 

Under the cushion is a brass plate, and these words 
are placed upon it, — 



THE Author 

OF 

The Village Blacksmith 

This Chair Made Fro:n[ the Wood of 

The vSpreadixg Chestxut Tree 

IS Presented as 

Ax Expression of Grateful Regard and Veneration 

BY 

the Children of Cambridge 

Who With Their Friends Join in Be-^t Wishes 

AND Congratulations 

ON 

This Anniversary 
February 27, 1879. 



The children were glad when the chair was 
finished. 

It was placed in Lono;fellow's study on the morning 
of February 27, 1879. 



The Children's Poet 



39 



It was his seventy-second birthday anniversary. 

He was so glad and happy, because the children 
remembered him, that he wrote a poem to thank 
them. 

He called this poem "From My Armchair."" 

In it he says, — 

"Am I a king that I should call my own 
This SDlendid ebbne throne?" 



"Only because the spreading chestnut tree 
Of old was sung by me." 































1 mill ^ ' ^^2^-^"^ ,* f 








■. : *"■" *l ""•; ■ .^ t^;*.^^'': 








M^^M^^^T^SM^^^ 






HEl^^H 




^HhBPw 1 




^^^^^^M- ' ■ :■ 1 




Longfellow's Armchair. 






^^ 



40 The Children's Poet 

From My Armchair. 

To the children of Cambridge, who presented to me, on my yad 
birthday, February 27. 1879, this chair, made from the wood of the 
spreading chestni:t tree. 

Am I a king that I should call iny own. 
This splendid ebone throne '' 
Or by what reason, or what right divine 
Can I proclaim it mine? 

Only perhaps, by right divine of song 
It may to me belong; 

Only because the spreading chestnut tree 
Of old was sung by me. 

Well I remember it in allits prime, 
When in the summer time 
The affluent foliage of its branches made 
A cavern of cool shade., 

There, by the blacksmith's forge, beside the street, 
Its blossoms white and sweet 
Enticed the bees until it seemed alive, 
And murmured like a hive. 

And when the winds of autumn with a shout 
Tossed its great arms about, 

The shining chestnut, bursting from the sheath. 
Dropped to the ground beneath. 

And now, some fragments of its branches bare. 
Shaped as a stately chair, 

Have by my hearthstone found a home at last 
And whisper of the past. 

The Danish king could not in all his pride 
Repel the ocean-tide, 
But seated in this chair, I can in rhyme 
Roll back the tide of Time. 



The Children's Poet 41 

I see again, as one in vision sees, 

The blossoms and the bees, 

And hear the children's voices shout and call, 

And the brown chestnuts fall. 

I see the smithy with its fires aglow, 
I hear the bellows roar 
And the shrill hammer on the anvil beat 
The iron, white with heat. 

And thus, dear children, have you made for me 
This day a jubilee. 

And to my more than three score years and ten, 
Brought back my youth again. 

The heart hath its ovv^n memory, like the mind. 
And in it are enshrined 

The precious keepsakes, into which is wrought 
The giver's loving thought. 

Only your love and your remembrance could 
Give life to this dead wood. 
And make these branches, leafless now so long, 
Blossom again in song. 



For Language Work. 

Note: — The story of the chair may be told either with the 
aid of the teacher's questioning or without it. Small pictures 
of the chair may be obtained from Perry Pictures Company, 
and these will add much to the children's desire to do good 
work, if pasted at the top of composition paper or in the com- 
position book. The story should be written under it. If 
children are too young to do this work themselves — unable to 
spell words — it would be wise to have a little conversation 
lesson and draw out just the expressions wanted, and write 
them upon the board and allow children to read and copy them. 
In using this poem, if it be too difficult for children to read. 



42 The Children's Poet 

teacher may read, always explaining -words that ma}' he too 
obscure for children ; such as proclaim, ebone, prime, foiiagL'. 
enticed, sheath, fragments, oceantide, vision. Jubilee, "three 
score and ten, " enshrined, keepsakes. 

Longfellow refers in stanza 7, to the Danish king, Canute, 
who during the Danish invasion of England won the English 
crown. So great and powerful was he that one day his court- 
iers told him that even the sea would obey him. To rebuke 
them he had his throne placed on the shore, and when the tide 
came up he commanded it to recede. It rose higher. 
Turning to his flatterers, he said: "Ye see how weak is the 
power of all kings and of all men. Honor, then, God only, for 
Him do all things obey." Use this story showing that the 
Danish King could not make the tide go back. 

What tide could Longfellow roll back ? 



Courtship of Miles Standish. 

Do you remember about Captain iMiles Standish ? 

You know he came with the Pilgrims in the May- 
flower. 

Longfellow tells about Captain Standish in a poem. 

He tells about the death of Captain Standish's wife 
Rose. 

He says, "She was the first to die of all who came 
in the Mayflower." 

Then he tells us that after a long time Captain 
Standish wanted to marry Priscilla, and asked John 
Alden to go and tell her so. 

Priscilla did not want to marry the captain. 

She said, "Why don't you speak for yourself, 
John?" ' . 



The Children's Poet 4^ 

After a while Priscilla and John were married. 
Some day you must read the poem. 

When you do, try to remember that Longfellow was 
a descendant of John and Priscilla Alden. 

Ask your teacher to tell you what he says of Cap- 
tain Standish. 



Two Angels. 

Longfellow wrote a poem about "Two Angels." 

One was the angel of Life. 

The other was the angel of Death. 

James Russell Lowell, the friend who lived on the 
River Charles, lost his beautiful young wife. 

She died on the same night a little baby girl came 
to Longfellow's home. 

That is the reason he wrote this poem. 

You may read it or your teacher may read it for 
you. 



Other Poems. 

Longfellow wrote many other poems which we love 
to read. 

When you get a little older you should buy a book 
of his poems. 

Some day you Vv ill want a library and you can keep 
the book for it. 

You will read one poem about a shipwreck. 



44 The Children's Poht 

It will tell you about a man who took his little girl 
with him on a trip and a big storm came up. 

They could not steer the ship aright and it struck 
on some sharp rocks. 

Everybody was drowned. 

This was really a true story. Longfellow read in a 

newspaper how the "Hesperus" was wrecked, and he 

wrote the poem about it that night. 
He named this poem "The Wreck of the Hesperus." 
You will fmd another poem about "The Rainy Day." 
He tells us in that, if we did not have the rain 

sometimes we would not know how to enjoy the 

sunshine. 

Do you think we would ? 

"The Old Clock on the Stairs" is another poem you 

must learn to read. 
Here is a pretty one about "The Arrow and the 

Song:" 

I shot an arrow into the air, 
It fell to earth, I knew not where; 
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight 
Could not follow it in its flight. 

I breathed a song into the air, 
It fell to earth, I knew not where; 
For who has sight so keen and strong, 
That it can follow the flight of song ? 

Long, long afterward, in an oak 
I found the arrow, still unbroke; 
And the song from beginning to end, 
I found again in the heart ot a friend. 



The Children's Poet 4^ 



Longfellow. 



On the following page is a picture of the Children's 
Poet. 

This is the way he looked when he was called an 
old man. 

He was born at Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. 
He was married to Mary Potter in 183 1. 
She died in Europe a short time after they were 
married. 

He says she was — 

The Being Beauteous, 
Who to my youth was given, 

More than all things else to love me 
And is now a saint in heaven." 

In 1843 he was again married and lived happily 
until July 1861. 

Mrs. Longfellow was playing with the children, 
when her dress caught fire and she was burned to 
death. 

Our Poet was so badly burned that he w^as confined 
to his room for several days. 

He never fully recovered from the blow, although 
he wrote many poems after this. 

He died on March 24, 1882, at Cambridge. 

He is buried at Mt. Auburn, Cambridge. 




Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Children's Poet. 



b. 



The Children's Poet 47 



Longfellow's Death. 

On February 27, 1882, the school children in Cam- 
bridge and those all over ti^e country talked of their 
loved poet. 

They talked of his good, pure life. 

They read and recited many of his poems. 

This was the way they celebrated his birthday. 

He was seventy-hve years old then. 

On that day he sat in his arm chair. 

He enjoyed his "books and liis pleasant pictures." 

He was so happy to know that the children every- 
where were keeping his birthday. 

Soon after this he became very ill, and — 

"Waiting a little longer 

For the wonderful change to come. 

He heard the summoning angel 
That calls GcmI's children home I" 

The "wonderful change" came on March 24, 1882, 
and Longfellow's soul went back to God, 

"As the soul of a little child 

Goes back to the clasp of the father's soul." 

Then Craigie House was filled with sadness. 

The bells tolled, and people everywhere mourned 
for our dear poet who had given so much beauty to 
the world. 

His whole life had been a poem full of love and 
sunshine, and had helped all who knew him. 

Now we read his poems and they help us to live 
better lives. 



48 The Childrbn's Poet 



Whittier's Tribute. 

John Greenleaf Whittier was another poet who 
loved little children. 

He and Longfellow were good friends. 

They were both born the same \/ear. 

Whittier wrote a poem about Longfellow and the 
children. 

He called it 'The Puet and the Children." 

In it he speaks of Longfellow's last birthday and 
tlie way the children kept it. 

He said — 

"The last of earth and the first of Heaven 
Seemed in the songs they sung." 

What did he mean by this ? 
This is what Mr. Whittier said ; 

The Poet and the Children. 

To H. w. L. 

With a glory of winter sunshine 

Over his locks of gray, 
In the old historic mansion 

He sat on his last birthday, 

With his books and his pleasant pictures, 

And his household and his kin, 
While a sound as of myriads singing 

From far and near stole in. 



The Children's Poet 49 

It came ivom his own fair city, 

From the prairies boundless plain, 
From the Golden Gate of sunset 

And the cedarn woods of Maine. 

And his heart grew warm within him, 

And his moistening eyes grew dim. 
For he knew his country's children 

Were singing the songs of him. 

The lays of his Hfe's glad morning, 
The psalms of his evening time, 
Whose echoes shall float forever 
On the winds of every clime. 

All their beautiful consolations, 

Sent forth like birds of cheer, 
Came flocking back to his window 

And sang on the poet's ear. 

Grateful but solemn and tender 

Its music rose and fell, 
With a joy akin to gladness 

And a greeting like farewell. 

With a sense of awe he listened 

To the voices sweet and young, 
The last of earth and the first of heaven 

Seemed in the songs they sung. 

And waiting a little longer 

For the wonderful change to come, 
He heard the summoning angels 

That call God's children home! 

And to him, in a holier welcome, 

Was the mystical meaning given, 
Of the words of the Blessed Master 

"Of such is the kingdom of Heaven." 



{;o The Children's Poet 



Hiawatha. 

The poem of Hiawatha is a most fascinating study for chil- 
dren, and should be used in the first, second and third grades; 
however, as it has been most beautifully elaborated by several 
writers, we will here give only a few suggestions and references 
in connection with the poem. 

Childien delight in Indian lore and Indian legend, and the 
field for correlation in a study of Hiawatha is almost boundless. 
We must begin it in story form, then the prettiest and by 
far most impressive way of teaching it is by dramatization. 
The best work of this kind is that of Florence Holbrook, pub- 
lished by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. The price is fif- 
teen cents. This can be easily dramatized by children of the 
first grade, and more may be added for second and third 
.grades. 

The children represent the characters of Hiawatha, Nokomis, 
lagoo, Minnehaha, the robin, bluebird, rabbit, squirrel, firefly, 
etc., and play the principal events of Hiawatha's life. 

When the children know that Hiawatha — 

"Learned of every bird its language, 
Learned its name and all its secrets," 

the teacher need have no fear that her nature study will be a 
bugbear. 

The child's keenest interests are aroused, and if Hiawatha 
knew those things, why should not he ? 

Hiawatha's childhood when Old Nokomis — 

'Rocked him in his linden cradle 
Bedded soft with moss and rushes, 
Lulled him into slumber singing 
Ewayea, my little owlet. 
Who is this that lights the wigwam 
With his great eyes lights the wigwam, 
Ewayea, my little owlet," 



The Children's Poet 51 

the questions he asked her and the quaint answers she gave 
him, as of the rainbow, — 

'Tis the heaven of flowers you see there, 

All the wild flowers of the forest, 

All the lilies of the prairie, 

When on earth they fade and perish 

Blossom in the heaven above us," 

the making of the canoe, — going to the different trees, asking 
and obtaining all the help he needed in making a canoe — 

"That should float upon the river 
Like a yellow leaf in autumn. 
Like a yellow water lily," 

the killing of the deer, the fight with Pearlfeather, the sailing, 
the fishing, the finding of Minnehaha, — all are full of liveliest 
interest for the little ones, and they never tire telling of them. 

One can readily see the great value of this kind of work 
upon the expressional power of the child. Reproduction work 
should go hand in hand with the story. A short story or bit 
of the poem should be given to the children daily. This little 
sketch does not intend to give in detail a study of the poem. 

The suggestions offered in Scott's Organic Education, pub- 
lished by D. C. Pleath Co., will be most helpful to teachers in 
preparation for history work in connection with the poem. 

The following list of books contain much helpful matter for 
the Avork: 

Hiawatha ± rimer, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 
Hiawatha the Indian — Educational Pub. Co. 
Holbrook's Dramatization of Hiawatha, Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co. 

Legends of Red Man's Forest. 

Legends of Red Children. 

Krackowiser's Study of Hiawatha, Flanagan & Co. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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